The Colt has been on sale for over four years now, so has the little Mitsubishi maturedwith age? Ian Robertson takes a look
The Colt has long been a stalwart in the Mitsubishi range, and indeed the UK importer is actually named the Colt Car Company, rather than Mitsubishi Motors UK, so despite being mostly known for dependable offroaders, the company has a lot to thank the baby of the range for.
Originally launched back in 2004, the Colt was conceived alongside Smart’s ill-fated forfour supermini. And even though production of the Smart ceased in June 2006, Mitsubishi has continued producing the Colt supermini in the same Dutch factory, since adding production of the Outlander SUV and its Citroën and Peugeot cousins. The Colt has always been a bit of a looker, managing to mix cute looks with mini-MPV styling cues, endowing the Mitsubishi with plenty of room inside. And with rear seats that not only offer a 60/40 split when folded, but also slide forward and back, and are completely removable, the interior of the Colt is pretty versatile. While the petrol engines in the range were designed by Mitsubishi, the diesel engine is sourced from Mercedes-Benz. Its unusual configuration of only 3-cylinders makes for a charismatic engine note – the sort that sounds quite sporty and has an interesting thrum to it. As with many small cars, the Colt is quite noisy on start-up, but soon settles down once warm. And with 94bhp to play with, the Colt is pretty sprightly compared to many superminis at this price point. Acceleration is good through the gears, achieving 0-62mph in 9.9 seconds. On the road, the small Mitsubishi is quite fun to drive, with decent handling and a well controlled ride. Maneouvering can be a pain, though, as the front A pillar is quite thick and at an angle that makes it difficult to see cars approaching at junctions. I found myself having to take a second or third look, in order to make sure that the way was clear.
Inside, you are faced with a swathe of hard plastics which feel quite cheap, even though Mitsubishi has tried to brighten it up by using a polka-dot style texture. There are other areas that leave a negative impression, like the seat-belt warning chime that alerts you to fasten your seatbelt – it sounds like a 1970’s Casio watch, as it beeps away at you. For the price, the Colt CZ2 is excellent value for money, with air conditioning, four electric windows, 15-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, CD/radio with steering wheel controls all fitted as standard. You would need to fork out over £1,000 more to get similar equipment levels on a Fiesta or Corsa.
RIVALS: Nissan Micra 1.5 dCi 86 Acent a 5-door, Skoda Fabia 2 1.4 TDI PD
Drive Time
- Engine: 1493cc, 3-cylinder, turbodiesel
- Gearbox: 5-speed manual
- Max Power: 94bhp at 4,000rpm
- Max Torque: 155lb ft at 1,800rpm
- Max Towing Weight: 1,000kg
- Combined Consumption: 58.9mpg
- CO2 Emissions (taxband): 126g/km (C)
- 0-62mph: 9.9secs
- Max speed: 112mph
- Insurance group: 5
Pros
Charismatic 3-cylinder engine, powerful, economical, great value for money
Cons
Cheap, hard plastics on the dash. Thick A pillar hinders vision
